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I remember when our children were children…and we were younger as well…

In a time they believed everything we said…oh the jokes and stories we would tell…

We could tell them the moon was made of cheese, fool them with card and magic tricks

and when we told stories around the campfire..they would sit and listen…transfixed.

One of my favorite stories as we sat around the fire…watching sparks soar into the air

was how we convinced the children (for a little while) that fireflies were created there.

But children grow up and catch on to our stories, they know all our fun deceptions and tricks…

and there comes a time around the campfire when they no longer listen…transfixed.

It’s when time spent around the campfire evolves…to where we just enjoy each other company

as we catch up on what’s going on in each other’s lives…and share a memory. 

But children keep growing and have children of their own…

grandchildren…a wonderful creation…

Which means with our old stories and tricks in hand 

we got to trick a whole new generation.

And it worked for a while…our same routines fooled as they fooled a generation before…

until our grandchildren grew and are were wise enough not to be fooled anymore…

However, we recently found out we will be great grandparents…

a new granddaughter will be joining the mix

Which means we can open up our old treasure chest of stories and dust off our old tricks. 

Because old stores and tricks never get old…they survive every generation gap…

and I look forward to the day…when seated around the campfire 

with my great granddaughter on my lap.

as we watch sparks from the fire flying up into the air…

I will tell her the story of how in the campfire…fireflies are created there…

And she will look into my eyes…as we watch those fireflies soar…

and smile at her great grandpa…as two generations have done before.

May we be blessed to understand…

This simple truth…about family….

that many parents have learned along the way:

If we want to be in our children’s memories tomorrow

we need to be in their lives today.

When what’s happening in our country and the world gets me down

When I don’t know where the sad news will come from next…or when…

I look to my family and nature to help lift me up again.

Last night as I sat in a rocking chair on the porch of our cabin in the trees

and again this morning to life me up…I dipped into my memories.

With our family grown and scattered we’re not making as many new memories any more

but here in the mountains looking out at nature I allow my old memories to soar. 

Last night I sat watching fireflies as they twinkled all around…

It was as if stars were shooting before us just above the ground.

And I remembered a time, not so long ago, when our children with wide eyes

would be laughing and running around the yard…chasing fireflies.

They chased so many fireflies until they came to understand…

If they only waited long enough one would alight upon their hands.

This morning as the fog eased in over the mountains…there was no morning breeze

so that fog with no where else to go…stayed nestled in the trees

I thought of a time not so long ago…we were driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

when I closed my eyes I remembered it was a day just like today.

The fog rolled in that morning too…and I remember feeling joyful and proud…

when we told our children to open the windows of the car…so they could touch the clouds. 

Our world is not always a world of happiness…

and when there is so much sadness before my eyes

I find my happy place in memories…of our family, of fog and fireflies.

I’m blessed to have so many happy memories…

that anytime I want…I can enter my mind to see….

which makes me I wonder if the world would be as sad as it is…

If everyone had as many wonderful memories as me.

I was grateful yesterday…

I am grateful today

and I will be grateful forever after…

that whenever I feel the need

I can recall

the sound of my family’s laughter.

May we be blessed as parents to know…

when thinking about our legacies…

We can hand down houses, cars and money to our children

but the greatest legacy we can leave them

are happy memories.

 For years at our cabin a family location signpost stood

to remind any of us when to the cabin we roam, 

We’re part of an extended family…and when we’re not in the cabin

where we all call home.

But, over the years, as our family has grown and moved around…

those arrows were no longer accurate…and were showing signs of deterioration….

So this year we decided that old family location signpost needed renovation.

We settled on a family mushroom…

because a mushroom symbolizes new beginnings, good fortune and re-birth,

and using an old fence post of Grandpas and his old post hole diggers…

we secured it to the Earth.

When we realized our family had grown so large…as families are wont to do

we decided one mushroom wasn’t enough…so we erected two.

For the top of the posts (now our mushroom stems)

In the garage we found two old purple saucer sleds…

and deciding they would work as mushrooms caps…we painted them bright red.

Deborah painted white spots on the cap…and those spots aren’t alone…

because along each stem every family member has a white spot of their own.

All of our spots occupy places on the stems…easy for everyone to see

Diane and Fred are at the top…having been the creators of this cabin…

and the heart and soul of our family.

You may notice there are still a lot of blank spaces on our mushroom stems…

just in case you want to know…

this gives our family…just like mushrooms…plenty of room to grow.

Which means we’ll be adding new spots…

which will keep our mushroom patch and our family strong

whenever new husbands, new wives, new partners…and new babies come along.

I mentioned the reasons why we chose a family mushrooms patch…

but it’s so much more than that…

For now we have a family symbol…that not only epitomizes our family’s love…

but is also good for us…because as everybody knows

mushrooms….are low in calories and fat.

Today I’m grateful for the deep roots and long branches

of my family tree…

for all the ancestors I’ve never know…

who are a part of me.

Since the day of their birth…and the time they learned to walk…

As I’ve watched my children and grandchildren grow each day

I’m grateful I’ve been able to enjoy 

every step 

they’ve taken along the way.

May we be blessed that wherever our children’s feet take them in life

wherever they happen to roam…

those same feet that lead them away from us…

will also lead them back home..